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Th'eraez
"It bent the very world and light around it, screaming for release. They always tell you about staring into the void...but this one really did stare back. It knows me now." - Annidyr, a prisoner describes The Speaker to Xerrus. Th'eraez ''Thr-ayz, also known as ''The Speaker ''(Other names include: ''The Cloaked One, The Shroud, Shadow, Mr. Absence) was a supernatural being that orchestrated the Black Collapse ''among other atrocities during his time in Eia's 18th Century. Though Th'eraez had no apparent gender, it considered itself a man. He first came to public attention in the lead up to the Black Collapse, being sighted as an immaterial ghost that warped any light that crossed him, and was for the most part regarded as an urban legend or a trick of the eye. When his plethora of names became associated with killings and disappearances, state officials began to take him seriously. Physical Appearance Th'eraez was the product of a starghast's failed transition into the Material, resulting in an incomplete being without form or purpose. His body resembled the silhouette of the average man, but didn't physically exist, instead it was just the image of nothingness in primordian form. Because Th'eraez didn't strictly exist in the material world, people, when looking at it, only witnessed an absence of light where he stood at any one moment, although he ''could physically interact with everything. He was said to warp and distort its immediate surroundings in an obscure optical illusion, similar to the description of a black hole. Towards its destruction, Th'eraez described the life of infinite purgatory between living and non-existence, confessing that hus crimes were an attempt to discover its own purpose and find meaning for its immaterial state. Origin The Speaker was a starghast arrived in Eia sometime between the years of 1730-1752, lurking in the hidden places of the world for years before beginning to rend the souls of its victims as a power source. It spent most of its time searching for potential thralls to aid in its conquest. Edermun Dantjek comes into contact with the Speaker in Gallnack, where he unintentionally allows the summoning of the Rin, after discovering he'd been controlled by the entity to steal a portstone from the Palace Vault. At this point, the Speaker has already developed some semblance of a body, or at least, a silhouette where one might be. Upon retrieving the portstone, it uses its power to summon as many of the Rin as it can to the Material World, and starts on a quest to liberate them by wiping out the Primordian population. It claims to be the voice of Gargatoa, the banished god in Niarism, and is the chosen eminence that will restore the world to its native state. It happily allows Edmun to leave and warn the Primonarch, so that it can taste the latter's fear as it brings his peoples' end closer. While the Speaker is unsure of its own origin, it follows the voice's orders without question. It claims not to seek the Throne for itself, but to destroy the concept entirely. In its mind, the Primordian race is an invader species and has irradicated the native Toans (Rin) from their home time and time again. Thralls Due to Th'eraez's immaterial body, servants were required to operate as its impaired senses; sight and hearing. Speech was the only thing it evolved to a reasonable level. It was able to possess individuals who were of weak will, mind, health or under immense stress at the time of possession as their ability to resist would be lesser. Th'eraez understood that its thralls needed to have just the right traits despite their weakness, whether it was discipline, physical strength or potential mental fortitude. * ''Seer' / Dark-Eyes / Riahdohla Kip: '''The orphan from Shelbeth House served as Th'eraez's eyes, gifted with far-sight that allowed her to see anyone she knew the name of or rough location and what they were doing at the time. This information was channelled through to Th'eraez's otherwise blind self. A retention of fluid around her eyes caused her to have permanent facial damage, leaving a band of unpleasant bruising across her face comparable to warpaint. * ''Listener' / Rend / Syndarus Amberfern: '''Much like Riahdohla, Syndarus was possessed with the ability to eavesdrop across the world from any location. On Th'eraez's command, he would spy on anyone his master requested without leaving a trace of his presence. However, his power relied on Riahdohla's far-sight, as they worked in tandem to deliver their master information. His nickname ''Rend ''was given as a mockery of his futile resistance towards Th'eraez, who caged him in a supernatural suit of armour that served as a straight-jacket. Syndarus had frequent bouts of violent lucidity, in which he would end up slaughtering innocents in the hopes death would free him from possession. Abilites The Speaker possesses a multitude of supernatural abilities through its evolution, mainly for travel and malicious intent. The most frequently used ability it harnesses is ''blink; ''the power to 'jump' to any location it knows or can see by phasing in-and-out of reality. Upon arriving at a location, the Speaker emerges from a dark, ethereal cloud that suddenly and violently erupts from thin air. Its most utilised ''attack ''has no particular name, but its purpose is to part the soul of the victim from their body and use it as a physical weapon, usually displayed by a blast of white gas or energy. The Speaker often precedes the ability by saying 'Release', demanding the victim let go of their will to survive, although it is unknown whether or not the Speaker says this as a smug comment. ''Unmatter; ''the vague name of this ability was coined by the Speaker during its teachings to a thrall, showing them how to generate material objects using souls as a building material. Though not widely useful for one such as the Speaker, its main use is seen when it requires a weapon to slay a victim should they resist. Most commonly, the Speaker uses unmatter to create a knife or other blade that can't be destroyed or defended against. Weaknesses (Spoilers) As the Speaker is not truly from Eia, it has no weakness other than beings of which it shares kin. As it comes to learn that other spirraighphirs inhabit the world, it quickly loses confidence and remains hidden for many years. Devyntias Amberfern and High Chaplain Sengra are both spirraighphirs, and encounter the Speaker in a fight to the death. __NEWSECTIONLINK__